Iceland has been so culturally isolated through history since the Vikings, that compared to other Scandinavian counties, people who speak Icelandic can still read the old Norsk sagas.
4
The ‘@’ sign is centuries old, and was used in Europe to denote a unit of weight (the “arroba”) equivalent to 25 lbs.
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Instead of McDonald's tearing down a ~200-year-old Georgian mansion, citizens of a small NY town forced them to renovate it instead, resulting in a uniquely historic franchise location.
8
In Ancient Greece, small penises were desirable, and big ones were for ‘old men and barbarians’
22
Genghis Khan exempted the poor and clergy from taxes, encouraged literacy, and established free religion, leading many peoples to join his empire before they were even conquered.
28
Pineapples were such a status symbol in 18th century England that you could rent one for the evening to take to a party.
25
Ma Yu Ching’s Bucket Chicken House in Kaifeng, China is considered the world’s oldest operating restaurant, first opening in 1153 AD during the Jing Dynasty.
12